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The United Nations Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Program: Formulation of Standards and Efforts at Their Implementation (Procedural Aspects of International Law)

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I write from the perspective of a former senior officer at the United Nations Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Programme. Professor Clark writes a clear and highly informative review of the activities of the Organization in this field since 1945. Having been a member of the then Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Branch from 1982 to 1994, I was active in the preparations for the 1985 and 1990 UN congresses on this topic, and I am surprised at the enlightening manner Professor Clark has of presenting a complex subject, making it accessible to the lay public. The programme has produced over 40 instruments in the area of crime prevention and criminal justice, which, although not binding in a legal manner, establish moral obligations which a sizable number of countries are unwilling to violate. They constitute the conceptual foundations upon which one day a true international penal law become a reality. This book is the best introduction to the largely unknown efforts of a group of dedicated international civil servants and to the outcome of such efforts. I highly recommend it to anybody who wishes to acquaint him-herself with this corpus of legal thought and reflection.